The Bee in Jade's Bonnet
by soniclore
Summary: Crossing the line between can be both frightening and liberating. More so if you don't know where you started, and don't care where you end up. I don't own Victorious or any of the characters within. My first fiction.
1. Chapter 1

Jade West was not one to fidget. Yet here she was, tapping her fingers and staring at the clock on the wall, watching the second hand move inexorably towards its destination…only to mock her as it reached its apex and began the journey around again. Class would be ending soon, and although she usually found Media Studies dreadfully boring, she found herself looking forward to the weekend assignment. _I guess Mr. Whatshisname can live,_ she thought. Another go-around of the hands of time came and went, offering her no reprieve. She let out a barely-audible sigh... unfortunately, it happened to be just loud enough to draw the attention of her ex-boyfriend Beck, seated next to her.

"You know, Jade…" he said in a wizened tone, "…if you stare at the clock long enough, it actually starts to go backwards." Jade turned her head to the side, looking him in the eyes. She narrowed her own at him. _I might yet strangle you. You're the reason I took this class anyway._

"Wow, Beck. You should write that down and shove it in a fortune cookie." Her tone was a combination of deadpan and sarcasm, one she used often and to great effect.

"I'm just saying, you've been staring at the clock and tapping your fingers for almost the entire class. Your desk is looking a little bruised. Is everything okay?"

"Nothing, no. Yeah…whatever" was the only reply she offered. They had been pretty stand-offish after the breakup, and his recent kiss attempt on Tori Vega hadn't helped. He just shrugged his shoulders and went back to packing his bag with his class supplies. After what seemed an eternity, the bell _finally_ rang signaling the end of morning classes and the beginning of lunch period. Jade quickly shoved her notes into her bag, along with the camera that was part of her weekend assignment, and headed out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Like most days at Hollywood Arts, it was sunny and bright outside. Jade approached the table around which were gathered her most frequent companions. She set her bag down next to her and placed her lunch on the table in front of her. She quickly glanced at the people around her. Beck, Robbie (arguing with his ever-present more interesting half, Rex), Tori (who looked to be dissecting her chicken salad like a mortician), Cat Valentine (who is so bubbly she barely needs soap) and Andre (actually a really gifted songwriter). She slid into the seat between Cat and Andre. Cat's face lit up and she raised both her arms in the air.

"Hooray, everybody! Jade's here! And she brought…ummm…yummy goodies!" The last part said with a playful growly tone. _That's a new record. Five seconds and she's already barely tolerable._

Jade turned and looked at the really-redhead. "They can see I'm here, Cat. You can put your arms down now."

"I could…but I'm not going to! It's warm out and I'm sweaty. Besides, football referees do this all day! TOUCHDOWN!" Cat was on a roll, as usual.

Tori spoke next. "C'mon Jade, you should be happy she's glad to see you!" Vega was always trying to be a diplomat. She was always so intent on everyone getting along….

Jade couldn't help herself, and she affected her Tori-as-Southern-Belle voice. "Aww, sorry, shugah! I didn't mean to offend your fine sensibilities!" She smiled at the rise she was going to get from the half-Latina. Sure enough, Vega scowled and whisper-shouted "I DO NOT talk like that!"

"Simmer down, Vega" Jade started, "or you'll miss out. I have an assignment for Media Studies. I'm supposed to take pictures of students. Since most of the people at this school make me want to rip out my eyes, you guys are going to be my subjects." At that, Jade produced the camera assigned to her in class. Turning it on, she pointed it at Cat. "Smile pretty, little kitty!"

Cat immediately began smiling, laughing, frowning, holding her hair up, squeezing her face together, and making literally every expression possible. Jade clicked away, taking a good dozen pictures of the cherry-topped girl. By the end of it, Cat was out of breath. "Boy, modeling sure is hard!" she managed to say. "Maybe I should start exercising!" With that, she got up and jogged away.

Jade then turned her attention to Andre. "Okay, Andre. Your turn." She said, trying to sound a little bored. Truthfully, she was kind of enjoying the assignment. Especially if it produced pictures she could use. As she started clicking away, Andre started smiling widely and dancing his fingers across his keyboard. Half a dozen clicks later and she was done with him. Her focus turned towards Robbie and Rex. _Halfway there. Take your time, don't rush…._

"Okay Robbie. Try not to break the lens, and for the love of all that's sacred LOSE the PUPPET!" Her eyes widened and Robbie started to put Rex down under the table. The puppet pleaded with Jade.

"Aw, come on, Jadeykins! You know I'm the real talent here. Robbie is just a -". The last part faded as Robbie shoved Rex into his bag. Jade made Robbie play his "Broken Glass" song while she took a few pictures. Soon she had all she could stand of the dark-haired nub, and turned the camera towards Beck.

"Beck. Uh, just smile or something." Beck responded by contorting his face with the widest, silliest grin he could muster. _Oh, please._

"Is this good?" he asked through clenched teeth, still smiling. _I don't care…leave!_

"Sure, yeah. Whatever". She took the one picture she was going to take of him. Then she looked at him, the same way you might look at someone whose head was covered in ants and on fire. He got the hint, stood up and left. That left her, Andre, Robbie, and Vega. Tori spoke up first.

"Oooh, is it my turn yet?" she rubbed her hands together, very enthusiastically. Vega was dressed in a red tank top, black frilly miniskirt and sandals, with multicolored bracelets and her hair spilling down around her shoulders. Jade eyed her, trying to look bored. The truth was, she was anything but bored. Now she had her chance. Jade raised the camera.

"Okay Vega…I suppose you're last." _Here we go…._


	3. Chapter 3

She aimed the camera at the slender, attractive girl. Without being told to, Tori's face lit up and a smile split her perfect lips. She tossed her head back, setting her hair almost magically and looked into the lens. _Careful…I almost licked my lips._ Jade clicked off four quick shots. She wanted _needed_ more. Hummingbirds danced in her stomach. She brushed her hair out of her eyes, and squinted.

"Okay, Barbie. Why don't we go over there..." she said, pointing to a shady area under the roof, "…and I'll see if I can get some without all the glare." As Tori stood up and started walking towards the shade, Jade glanced around quickly, and satisfied that no one would notice, raised the camera waist-high and shot a handful of stills of the half-Latina beauty walking. _Wow. She really knows how to walk…._

When they reached the shade, Vega assumed a leaning position on the wall. Jade's imagination went wild with possibilities. Ways of posing Vega crept into her mind…one arm up, both arms up, eyes closed, head tilted to the side, neck exposed, waiting to be kissed.._._ _Okay,__ focus, dummy! She almost caught you staring!_

"Okay Tori, just try and look natural, and not like some mannequin in a window." Jade raised the camera, aimed….

"Wait…Jade, did you just call me Tori?" _Whoops. Uhhh…_

"No. Don't let it go to your head though." Jade started clicking the shutter button. She swallowed hard. Her mouth felt dry. She was also starting to feel warmer. She hadn't felt this warm since…_since we all got locked in Beck's trailer at the beach!_ _Oh boy. What I wouldn't give for a pool full of ice water right now._

Luckily Vega seemed occupied. " Jade, what do you want me to do with my hair? I'm having a really good hair day, if I do say so!" she said with much gusto.

Jade stared for a couple of seconds. "Just keep it out of your eyes. Other than that, go crazy. Dye it orange. Shave it off and glue it to your chest. Make it into a wreath…anything." She tried to put as much sarcasm into her suggestions as possible. _I wonder what it smells like today?_

Vega laughed out loud, a sound that Jade found…irresistible. "Wow…do you stay up all night and think this stuff up, or does it just pop into your head?" Tori made a popping sound with her finger in the side of her mouth, for emphasis.

Jade smiled, an actual, real, honest smile. Then it occurred to her that she was smiling so she quickly raised the camera and snapped off a few more pictures. _Ugh. Why does she have to be so…ARRRRGH!_

"Come on, Vega, we're almost done here. Couple more."

Tori ran her hands up the back of her neck, lifting her hair up and letting it fall gracefully around her neck and shoulders. Her legs were spread, her miniskirt pulled taut across them. Her perfectly tanned skin seemed to shimmer, even in the shade. She tossed her hair again with her hands, then bent over at the waist towards Jade. She brought her arms inward, which caused her breasts to squeeze together. She looked straight at Jade, and pursed her lips slightly. Jade took as many pictures as she could in the next five seconds, savoring Tori's lips, her shoulders, her cheekbones, and her cleavage, but most of all she marveled at the look in her eyes.

_Omigod omigod omigod_ was all she was thinking but she managed to say in as sour a voice as she could muster, "Whoa, Vega, let's not turn this into something unprintable!"

"Hey, the bell's about to ring. Did you get what you wanted?" Vega asked, looking down at her phone.

"I think I got some shots I can use." Jade told her.


	4. Chapter 4

After school, Jade drove home faster than usual. She pulled into the driveway, hauled her stuff out of the car, slammed the door and entered her house. Once inside, she made a beeline for her room, stopping only to grab her laptop from the living room table where she had left it that morning.

She went up to her room, closed the door behind her and even though no one else was home, locked it. She drew her shades mostly shut, though she was on the second floor. The raven haired girl set her bag upon her bed, opened it and took out the camera. Running a cable from it to her laptop, she downloaded the pictures she had taken of everyone today. After what seemed like forever, she disconnected the camera and put it aside. She scrolled down the screen, looking at the shots she had taken, ignoring Cat…Andre…Robbie…Beck…until she got to what she was looking for.

_Unreal. I took these today and I can't believe it. Can't believe she let me. Can't believe she…she...posed! For me! _She continued to look at each picture, savoring the details; every hair, every curve, the glint of light in her eyes. Her flawless skin, her lips surreal in their perfection, her every delicate feature more enticing than the last. As Jade continued to look at her treasure, she realized she was starting to get very warm. She shed the black shirt she was wearing, leaving the electric blue tank top underneath, the same blue she had streaks of in her hair. Scrolling down, she got to the pictures she was dying to examine. There was Tori Vega, in all her glory, posing so seductively, so amazingly sexy, Jade's heart skipped before beating twice as fast. _She is beauty. She is grace. She is a wonder of the world. I am in awe of her. Her eyes…my God, she's looking right through me! I wonder if she sees me the way I see her. I wonder if she ever could. _She felt her throat begin to tighten in the familiar way, her eyes begin to water. She knew what she had to do...


	5. Chapter 5

Jade went to her closet and pulled out a stack of high-quality photo paper, and loaded it into her printer. She selected most of the pictures of Tori, adjusted a few, and cropped a few more. She sent them to her printer, and as it began the task of immortalizing Tori, Jade went over to her bed. She knelt down beside it and felt up under it, under the boxspring for the perfect little cut she had made with her favorite pair of scissors. She slid her hand through the cut and felt around, and soon she found it. She pulled out the large black binder, placed the heavy tome up on her bed, and opened it.

As the printer clicked and whirred, Jade opened the binder, and setting the book in the patch of light let in by the mostly-closed shade, she began to look upon the many pictures of her desire.

Tori singing at the talent showcase, filling in for her useless sister; Tori eating lunch with Andre; Tori wearing her ping pong uniform; wearing Jade's dress at the restaurant _it still smells like her_; dancing disco-style after the play; wearing her bikini at the beach _God I love those ones_; dressed up for Christmas; pics of her and Tori dressed up to play a married couple _my ultimate dream, alas…_… Jade looked at them all, taking in every bit of Tori that she can, when she heard the printer stop.

She gathered all the paper, now adorned with the unrelenting visage of her beloved, and sat on her bed. Carefully, she wrote the date on the back corner of each photo with a fine tip sharpie, then lovingly entered each picture into its new home. As she did, she couldn't help but feel tears start to well up in her eyes, and she tried not to cry as they rolled down her cheeks. When she finished her work, her labor of love, she looked again through the book, pleased with its progress, hopeful that there are still many unfilled pages. Jade gently closed the book, laid back on her bed, laid the book upon her chest and hugged it. Then she wept; for herself, for Tori, for her love that would remain unrequited, for the future she wanted but that would forever be denied her.

* * *

As she lay on her bed, Jade's phone beeped with an incoming text. She wiped the tears from her eyes enough so she could read, and looked at the phone. _Oh my God! _It was from Tori! She read it, reread it, then read it again to be sure.

**Having a get together at my house. Wanna come?**

Jade laughed out loud. Her tears of despair quickly turned to tears of joy, of hope. She wiped her face on her shirt, fumbled a bit with her phone, then sent a reply.

**Ugh. I suppose. **

She carefully placed the binder back in its hiding spot, and started deciding what to wear. She got as far as "black" before her phone beeped again. With a song in her heart she read the message:

**Great. See you soon! Bring your camera ;)**

Jade walked over to the window, and threw open the shades.

_Maybe today..._


End file.
